With God All Things Are Possible

The Verse

Matthew 19:26 — "But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

The verse is often extracted as a standalone promise — but its meaning depends on what "this" refers to in context. Read from Matthew 19:16 onward, the full setting clarifies both what Jesus is asserting and what he is not.

The Context: The Rich Young Ruler

A wealthy young man has approached Jesus asking, "What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16). The dialogue unfolds:

• Jesus lists commandments from the second tablet of the Decalogue (v. 18–19).
• The young man says, "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" (v. 20).
• Jesus tells him to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him (v. 21).
• "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions" (v. 22).
• Jesus: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (v. 24).
• The disciples, "exceedingly amazed," ask, "Who then can be saved?" (v. 25).

Verse 26 answers this question.

What "This" Refers To

The Greek demonstrative touto ("this") refers to the disciples' question: "Who then can be saved?" The impossibility in view is not a general category of human difficulties — it is the specific question of salvation, posed in the wake of Jesus's teaching that the rich enter the kingdom only with difficulty.

Jesus's answer is precisely located: what seems impossible on human terms — the transformation of a heart attached to possessions, the entry of anyone into the kingdom — is possible with God. The promise is anchored in a soteriological conversation, not a universal promise about circumstances.

The Greek

Para anthrōpois touto adynaton estin, para de theō panta dynata.

• Para (παρά) with dative — "with, alongside, in the presence of, from the perspective of."
• Adynaton (ἀδύνατον, Strong's G102) — "impossible, incapable." The a- prefix negates dynatos ("possible").
• Panta dynata — "all things [are] possible." The same root as English "dynamic, dynamite."

The Old Testament Echo

Jesus's phrasing echoes God's words to Abraham:

Genesis 18:14 — "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?"

The Septuagint translates: mē adynatei para tō theō rhēma — "Is any thing impossible with God?" The same Greek phrase Jesus uses. Similar verses recur:

• Jeremiah 32:17 — "there is nothing too hard for thee."
• Jeremiah 32:27 — "is there any thing too hard for me?"
• Job 42:2 — "I know that thou canst do every [thing]."
• Zechariah 8:6 — "should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts."

The Limits Scripture Places on "All Things Possible"

Scripture applies "nothing is impossible" to God's character and purposes — not as a blanket grant for any human wish. Several New Testament texts place explicit limits:

• Hebrews 6:18 — "[it was] impossible (adynaton) for God to lie." The same Greek word Jesus says does not apply to God in Matthew 19:26 does apply, in Hebrews, to divine self-contradiction.
• 2 Timothy 2:13 — "he cannot deny himself."
• Titus 1:2 — "God, that cannot lie."
• James 1:13 — "God cannot be tempted with evil."

"All things are possible with God" is not a mathematical universal. It is the counterpart to "this is impossible with men" in a specific soteriological conversation — and the broader biblical witness understands it within the frame of God's own nature.

Related Statements by Jesus

• Mark 9:23 — "If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth." Context: a father pleading for his demon-afflicted son.
• Mark 14:36 — "Abba, Father, all things [are] possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou [wilt]." Jesus's Gethsemane prayer. Possibility and immediate submission held together.
• Luke 1:37 — "For with God nothing shall be impossible." The angel Gabriel to Mary.

The Anchoring Context

Matthew 19:26 is quoted most often in contexts of personal ambition, financial hardship, or medical difficulty. Those applications are legitimate as extensions, but the verse's anchoring context is the transformation of a heart attached to riches, and the broader question of how anyone enters the kingdom of God. Read in its surrounding chapter, the verse promises less about circumstances and more about grace: the impossibility of self-earned salvation, answered by the possibility of salvation given from God.